An entertainment head-end provides broadcast programming, video-on-demand services, and HTML-based interactive programming through a distribution network to client terminals in subscribers' homes. A number of different features are provided, including novel user interfaces, enhanced video-on-demand controls, a variety of interactive services (personalized news, jukebox, games, celebrity chat), and techniques that combine to provide user experiences evocative of conventional television.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method of presenting interactive video entertainment, comprising: providing plural viewing channels; providing plural transmission channels; on certain of said plural viewing channels, providing television programs; providing an interactive video entertainment channel on at least one of said plural viewing channels, said interactive video entertainment channel HTML-based, said interactive video entertainment channel providing interactive video entertainment, comprising: at least one of personalized news information, personalized music selections, and personalized prerecorded television selections; when switching away from the interactive video entertainment channel transmitted on a first transmitting channel, storing at least one data record associated with said interactive video entertainment channel; when thereafter switching back to said interactive video entertainment channel, restoring video interruption point information associated with the at least one data record and resuming transmission over a second transmission channel; wherein said plural transmission channels refer to frequencies used to relay programming to clients, wherein at least one user preference is stored; wherein the interactive video entertainment is filtered based on the at least one user preference; and in which the interactive video entertainment is presented for display at a client terminal.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one data record includes a pointer associated with a point at which the interactive video entertainment was interrupted when switching away from the interactive video entertainment channel.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one data record is used to resume transmission of the interactive video entertainment from the point at which the interactive video channel was interrupted.
4. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing said pointer in a store at the client terminal.
5. The method of claim 2 in which the interactive video entertainment is provided to the client terminal from a video infrastructure, and the method includes storing said pointer in a store in the video infrastructure, remote from the client terminal.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising: switching between said plural viewing channels using a remote control device.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: using a remote control device in conjunction with an on-screen electronic programming guide to browse said plural viewing channels; and selecting a channel providing the interactive video entertainment.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: viewing e-mail while switched away from said interactive video entertainment.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one data record includes a pointer associated with a point at which the interactive video entertainment was interrupted when switching away from the interactive video entertainment channel and upon switching back to said interactive video entertainment channel, resuming the interactive video entertainment at the point of interruption without a start request.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said interactive video entertainment further comprises a screen, and wherein the screen is overscanned.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing an on-screen user interface with plural controls for the user to interact with said interactive video entertainment channel.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a downloaded software control package in response to selecting a specific interactive content on the interactive video entertainment channel; and providing an on-screen user interface with plural controls associated with said specific interactive content.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein said specific interactive content is a multi-user interactive content.
14. A system for presenting interactive video entertainment, the system comprising: means for receiving a composite signal comprising channels, the channels comprising at least one television channel and at least one interactive video entertainment channel providing interactive video entertainment, the interactive video entertainment comprising at least one of a personalized news information channel, a personalized music selection channel, a personalized prerecorded broadcast program channel, and a games channel; means for switching between said at least one television channel and at least one interactive video entertainment channel; means for displaying a user interface; means for allowing a user to enter personalized information using the displaying a user interface means; means for displaying said channels received from the composite signal; means for storing state information associated with said interactive video entertainment channel; wherein, switching back to said interactive video entertainment channel after switching away, if a user returns to the interactive video entertainment channel within a predetermined period, then said state information is used to resume an earlier-commenced activity on said interactive video entertainment channel from a point of interruption; and wherein the interactive video entertainment is filtered based on the personalized information.
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August 23, 2005
February 17, 2009
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